Then they misread what MOST people, not myself, MOST people want out of the camera. That is the best possible result w/o any post-exposure manipulation.
I don't know why they refuse to get that simple fact. If we shoot RAW it's one thing, but people readiing the review thatwant the best possible .jpg w/o manipulation will likely fail to be impressed. Tom C. >From: Godfrey DiGiorgi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List <[email protected]> >To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List <[email protected]> >Subject: Re: K10D review online >Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 18:02:08 -0800 > > >On Dec 15, 2006, at 5:21 PM, Alexandru-Cristian Sarbu wrote: > > > .. In fact now I'm thinking that the jpeg "issue" may be a design > > decision. *If* it's tuned for better tonal gradation (I hope I'm using > > the correct words), the dynamic range will be lowered (since you have > > only 8 bits/channel to store the data). But I have no idea if this is > > really the case. .. > >I am sure that this is the case. > >There is a thread at DPReview > http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp? >forum=1036&message=21284539 >where someone is calling for a mass request to Pentax for a firmware >update. I found this reply interesting. > > > Forum Pentax SLR Talk > > Subject received this reply: > > Posted by chrswggl > > Date/Time 9:03:20 PM, Friday, December 15, 2006 (GMT) > > > > > > > > Dear Sir/Madam, > > > > Thank you for contacting Pentax. > > > > Quotes from DPReview: > > http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxk10d/page11.asp > > > > "Sharpness: > > As we have seen on previous Pentax digital SLR's the default > > sharpness level is a little more conservative than other cameras, > > that's not a bad thing and simply means that if you want your > > images a little sharper out of the camera just select +1 or +2. > > We also note that Pentax appear to be using a sharpening > > algorithm which produces 'undershoot' (a darkening of black side > > of contrast on an edge) rather than 'overshoot' (white halos), > > this can be seen most obviously on the watch fingers in the +3 > > crop. Unfortunately this appears to leave some black edges > > looking a little soft and increasing the sharpness setting > > doesn't help. " > > > > "When we reviewed the K100D we thought Pentax had got their image > > processing just right, however the single element of the entire > > K10D equation which left us scratching our heads was just that. > > Either a poorly implemented demosaicing algorithm or a strange > > choice of sharpening parameters means that while the K10D's JPEG > > images have plenty of 'texture' they can lack the edge sharpness > > we're used to seeing from semi-pro digital SLR's. > > > > Pentax may well have been aiming for a smooth film-like > > appearance but I at least feel that the inability to tweak this > > out by increasing sharpness is a mistake. That said it's unlikely > > you'll see this difference in any print up to A3 size, it's a > > 100% view thing so you have to decide if that's important to you > > or not. To get that absolute crisp appearance you'll need to > > shoot RAW, and use Adobe Camera RAW or another third party > > converter (as the supplied converter produces similar results to > > the camera). > > > > With the criticism out of the way we return to the K10D as a > > 'photographic tool', something it does very well. It's a camera > > you get used to very quickly and never really leaves you > > searching for the correct setting or control. It's also a camera > > you can grow into, the unique exposure modes are both creatively > > interesting and useful, a range of options such as this encourage > > you to experiment. At just under $900 it's a very strong > > proposition, so despite our reservations about the slightly soft > > image processing the K10D just achieves a Highly Recommended." > > > > > > This is something that we could change with a firmware update, > > but to the best of my knowledge the camera is working as intended > > by our designers, so such a firmware update is unlikely. > > > > If you prefer a sharper shot to a softer feel, then you will > > probably wish to shoot in the DNG RAW format instead of PEF RAW > > or JPG. > > > > If you prefer a smoother image, then you will want to shoot in > > PEF RAW or JPG. > > > > > > If you are in need of further assistance, please respond to this > > email or call our technical support center at 800-877-0155. > > > > Best Regards, > > Dorian B. > > Pentax Imaging Technical Support > > ---- > >Now the intriguing question, to me, is Dorian's statement: > > > -- > > If you prefer a sharper shot to a softer feel, then you will > > probably wish to shoot in the DNG RAW format instead of PEF RAW > > or JPG. > > > > If you prefer a smoother image, then you will want to shoot in > > PEF RAW or JPG. > > -- > >This implies one of two things: > >Either there is some image processing applied to the RAW data in PEF >and JPEG output modes that isn't applied to the DNG output mode, or >Dorian is assuming Pentax Lab for PEF conversion which performs >different smoothing/cleanup compared to when it processes K10D PEFs. >It might also be an answer to the comments that Pentax Lab and >Silkypix produce different RAW conversion results with PEF vs Camera >Raw and Lightroom with DNG. This is an interesting question mark and >I'm curious to see what happens when Adobe supports K10D PEF files. >Meanwhile I'm going to devise a test to see if I can find subtle >differences ... > > > I don't use jpeg anyway. So I don't really care :) > >:-) > >Ach. Someday all this flap will be over and I'll spend more time >doing PHOTOGRAPHY again, rather than being an equipment weenie. > >Godfrey > >-- >PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >[email protected] >http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
